


Save the Day.

by the-canary (siruru)



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: 1950s, Alternate Universe - Detectives, Alternate Universe - Noir, Alternate Universe - Thieves, Bucky Barnes Is a Good Bro, Bucky Barnes Recovering, Detective Noir, Developing Relationship, F/F, F/M, Light Angst, Miscommunication, Mutual Pining, Not Captain America: The Winter Soldier Compliant, Post-Captain America: The First Avenger, Reader-Insert, Secret Crush, Secret Identity, Strangers to Lovers, Unresolved Emotional Tension, Unresolved Romantic Tension, Waiting, War Veteran Bucky Barnes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-08
Updated: 2019-06-11
Packaged: 2019-11-13 23:15:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,876
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18040937
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/siruru/pseuds/the-canary
Summary: Chasing phantom thieves, saving pretty gals from falling, getting a cool drink with his best pal – it’s just a normal day for Detective James Barnes. However, what if all that falling he seems to be doing is connected to the thief he’s chasing and the gal he’s got his eye on?





	1. dames and jewels.

**Author's Note:**

> This is for @barnesrogersvstheworld ‘s 3k writing challenge. I have been sitting on this idea for some time now, it might seem a little silly but I hope you enjoy it!
> 
> Prompt: Falling for you - One trips or faints only to be caught or revived by the other.
> 
> Feedback is always appreciated.

**London, England - 1950.**

“Did she ‘fa ‘ta do that?” a voice comes in sturdy but with a little static as two pairs of eyes watch the lone figure run through the rooftops, there isn’t much of a commotion this time around since the item that they were “claiming back” was in the hands of a private donor and the rich tended to be the kind that kept things under wraps – less police, but more dangerous security.

“You know she likes showing off from time to time,” the second figure responds back, she catches her partner running a bit slower than usual before the masked figure slides off a railing. The blond sighs, knowing that there is going to be blood staining their floor tonight.

A second figure drops from her vantage point, as the blond starts her own decent as well, as she hears a police siren not too far from the estate the redhead –now coming her way after quickly changing clothes–

They make their way closely together down the dimming lit and rebuilt London streets to a little cafe that is open at all hours. The third figure, that had been watching over the entire operation via her own little machines, frowns for just a second as the two come up to kiss on her hello on the cheek – just three working gals getting something sweet to eat after a long day at work.

“Took ya long enough, Noir,” she remarks in annoyance. Her heart still thumping from thinking that the redhead was a younger so a second, but all Noir does is pat the side of her hip and gives the two of them a smile before sitting down.

The blond shakes her head before taking her seat to her, as Noir keeps smiling and orders a drink from the semi-asleep man behind the counter.

They celebrate quietly, for now, waiting for the newspapers to come in rolling once again: _THE SECOND JEWEL STOLEN BY THE BLACK WIDOW._

After tomorrow, they would on their way to a new city with a single task in mind.

* * *

**New York City - 1950.**

“So, you’re really thinking about askin’ her, huh punk?” the dark-haired man questions before taking a sip of his drink. The blond contemplated before a smile blooms on his face, as he stares at the little box in front of him — a ring that belonged to his mother from before the first war had even started that had been safely kept for him by one Winnifred Barnes.

“I think I’ll combust if I want any longer, Buck,” Steve responses with a lovestruck smile that cause Bucky to stop for a moment because why he understood how much a Steve Rogers loved Peggy Carter – it was crazy to see how far that once 5’2 back alley fighter was willing to go now.

Both him and Stevie had come back from the war, though not exactly as they had left it. James Buchanan  Barnes was a decorated war veteran with numerous awards and medals for his valor before and after his time with the Howling Commandos, though that didn’t make up for the arm (a la Stark) and time he had lost when he had been found by Allied troops after he has fallen off the train.

–He hadn’t gotten on a train since could barely handle the sound.    

Steve – well, Captain America to most people nowadays– had been mourned for over a year and a half before Stark finally found the plane hidden deep within the Atlantic. It took another ten months before anybody heard anything from him again as he had been rehabilitating in secret – Steve woke up in cold sweats and nightmares after being found, like a younger version of himself all over again and while they were controllable now, he still had them. So, he threw himself into the mantle of Captain America once more, rebuilt the Howling Commandos with whoever was still around and young blood who wanted to get into finishing the fight– Steve ran around with Pegs, Dum-Dum, Gabe, and Morita as his central group now.

So many things had changed and Bucky still struggled with it all, as he saw Steve whenever he was off a mission and near the area, but their youth had been taken and lost – Bucky was at an impasse as Steve kept moving forward but unlike Bucky – Steve had never felt that he had had a future until he came back from out of the ice and now he was certain of what he wanted in it.

“Well,” Bucky begins, “Ya gotta make it a New York wedding, if not my ma will kill before you get to the aisle.”

“Wouldn’t dare,” Steve laugh before taking a sip of his own drink, though neither of them can really get drunk now – a fact that Bucky doesn’t like bringing up for himself because it’ll just lead to his own set of nightmares to come in and haunt him.

They settle into a steady talk of memories and updates of their old team, as Bucky tries to laugh off that he doesn’t miss all of it – that he would gladly trade in his badge for another raid with Steve and the former Howling Commandos, was ready the moment Steve called for him. However, Steve thought that the domesticity and familiarity of New York were best for Bucky, especially after what had almost happened.

They makeup talk and pretend to ignore the real issues at hand –Bucky looking like he hasn’t slept and Steve always needing to be somewhere warm– as they both look forward to Peggy Carter saying yes.

_I’m sure you’ll find the right one. All of Brooklyn, hell New York is waiting for that ‘ol Bucky Barnes._

But, the old Bucky Barnes was dead. There probably wasn’t going to be a fairytale ending for him at the end, he can’t help but think bitterly over as he walks back down to his Brooklyn apartment.

If he really thought about, Bucky wasn’t really sure when it was the last time he had touched a woman, though he was sure it had to b before the war. The thoughts of finding the perfect gal and starting a little family of his own went down after every year – and now Steve was getting married before him, he wasn’t so sure how to feel about that besides the happiness that came with Steve living past their youth.

It’s when he’s in his darker thoughts that he feels a slight bump near his shoulder and a grasp on his right wrist that he freeze, ready to bring back that old familiar training before he notices that the person who grabbed him is a dame – a very pretty dame.

“Excuse me, sir,” she sniffs a bit as she motions to her foot barely above the ground, “Could you help me?”

Bucky blinks for a moment before nodding, as the dame tells him that she had fallen and had been walking alone in her new neighborhood. Blue eyes widen as he places a charming but empathetic smile on.     

“Good thing ya found me, ma’am,” he answers back as he places her arm over his neck before picking her up with the left one, “Detective James Barnes, at ya service.”

She gives him a timid smile before giving him directions, as Bucky can’t help but think that maybe Steve had been right – just this once.


	2. nurses and vacations.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Brief mention of potential domestic violence, just as a heads up. But, a certain someone is joining the team ;D

“So you don’t know where the Stark Expo is being held this year?” the third gal exclaims while pushing her goggles back for a second. The blond and redhead give her wicked smiles and she can’t help but feel a shiver in the air, those two, when they got their heads together, were a scary thing – at least it was of the many things that these two could be.

“Stark is eccentric,” Noir begins to explain with a gleam in her green eyes, “From my sources, he keeps changing it between New York and Los Angeles, we need a set of eyes in both locations.”

“Besides,” the blond starts and leans into the youngest of their trio, “You know New York like the back of your hand, better to have you there than us.”

“You guys just wanna soak in the sun,” she complains with a frown as the blond smiles, “No good Queen and Noir.”

“We’re sure you’ll have just as much fun as us,” Noir chimes in before taking a sip of her drink as the third gal keeps frowning.

* * *

_“Ah,” she stumbles just a little to the front door as James catches her by the waist, “This is my apartment building, I live on the first floor.”_

_“Are you gonna need any more help, miss?” he can’t help but ask, as she gives him a shy smile with a shake of her head._

_“No, Mr–”_

_“Detective,” he states with a smile, “Detective James Barnes, at your service.”_

_She gives him one last smile before going in, James doesn’t notice how quickly it falls when she goes inside._

* * *

**_“Did you hear anything of what I was just saying?”_ **

James blinks for a moment before staring at the man in front of him. Blue eyes turn to meet an angry brown as one Captain Fury frowns at the man, but there was always frown on the captain’s face when it comes to Barnes, because for a decorated fellow as he was, even he had trouble following the law sometimes. James tended to drink from time to time, even when he was on duty, though he still managed to do his job just fine, this was a different story altogether.

There was a letter between the two of them:

_THE BLACK CAT IS COMING FOR HOWARD STARK’S COLLECTION._

James can’t help but frown at the letter, he knew that since the war had ended Stark was getting all sorts of attention from prestigious academics, to the US Government, and any starlet that thought they could make it big in his budding production studio or maybe with the right amount of luck be the future, Mrs. Stark. He was under constant surveillance, but Howard just seemed to thrive underneath it all as he helped create and perfect a prosthetic that helped James…well, most of the time.   

However, from what James understood the Black Widow only went after certain jewels that caught their attention, so they had to be going after something in the recent years – something that Bucky probably hadn’t seen since Stark spent most of his time in sunny California nowadays.

“This was sent a week ago,” Fury sits down and sighs, “We’re thinking they are going to be aiming for the Stark Expo coming up in a few weeks.”

James remembers going to the Stark Expo once, it hadn’t been that great since the flying car only managed to hover to a few seconds before breaking down completely. However, for a young Bucky that had been one hell of a sight and he was sure that with all the advancement that Stark Industries has made in the past few years there would be even greater things to look – the thoughts of a brighter future and

“Why are you telling me though?” Bucky can’t help but ask. Surely, he knew the ins and outs of the city and he knew Stark, but there were much better men – there always was.  

“You were in Paris the first time they struck,” Fury explains as James tries not to think about that time. The recovery time post-war was something that was still hazy to Bucky after the fall – filled with pain and doing anything to make it stop, “Surely, you must’ve heard of them?”

“I don’t ‘member that time too well, boss,” James lets out in an awkward laugh. Fury just shakes his head before moving forward with the agenda set out for him.

“Well, the agent assigned to this mission think you would be a perfect fit got it with your expertise,” James almost swears that Fury is using a sarcastic tone with him, but since there is no change in his facial expression he can’t be careful about it. However, the first part of the sentence makes his ears perk up and he can’t help but ask.

“Who was the agent assigned for this details, Captain?”

At the same time, James asks that question the door opens behind and he swears that deep down he’ll never forget the way a certain pair of heels sounds like. He swerves his chair to look at a familiar brunette that he hasn’t seen even longer than the last time he had seen Stevie – what with her movements with the SSR and a certain Howard Stark.

However, those serious brown eyes and red-painted lips haven’t changed since the first time he had meet her.

“Agent Carter,” Fury declares with a nod as she acknowledges him back. Yet, a sparkle of familiarity shines in her eyes when she meets Bucky’s baby blues.

“It’s been a while, James,” she states in the most professional tone imaginable, but there is a slight hint of friendship that he is quick to catch. Deep down, Bucky knows that he’ll always be grateful for what Peggy had done for him and Steve in the long run.

“It certainly has been, Pegs.”

* * *

It’s two days after his meeting with Fury and Peggy that James finally sees the gal he had been thinking about. He isn’t sure why, but there was just something shy and sweet about her that caught Bucky’s attention and after such a long time of fighting and nightmares – well, maybe James wanted to see more of that in his life.

She carrying some bags –groceries maybe?– when Bucky finally decides to take a few steps to cross the street from where he had been eating lunch to walk beside her.

“Need any help with that?” he asks, as blue eyes twinkle over getting her out of her train of thought because it has her going from frowning to looking at him in bewilderment to finally a small smile blooming her face as she turns to look at him.

“Detective Barnes,” she greets a while shifting her bags just a bit, “Saving damsels in distress again?”

“Only if they wanna be,” he answers back, as he waits for a moment. She laughs just a little but hands him one of the heavier bags that she holding and he takes it. They start a slow walk back to a familiar setting, “And how’s the ankle doing?”

“Better,” she states vaguely, “Iced and rested enough, trying to take it easy at work.”

“Ah,” James nods, as he glances down to see that she is wearing regular, flat  Mary Jane’s instead of those heeled shoes that she had been wearing that night, “What do ya do for a living, anyway?”

She frowns for a moment, as she states almost in a bitter sort of tone, “I’m a nurse at the community clinic. Been once since the war.”

Bucky couldn’t help but wonder if anything would have gone any better if that younger, war-scarred but still suave as hell Bucky Barnes had met a certain nurse during the war effort. Though, James had to wonder how she had changed and lost as well, unlike some other people –who saw threats and new dangers up the horizon– Bucky always seemed to find that things were still connected to the war, even if he didn’t want them to be and as much as he tried to push away from all those thoughts.

“Thank you once again, Detective,” her voice takes him out of his thoughts, as they are already standing in front of the familiar red-brick building. She smiles and thanks him ready to head inside, but he stops here – not wanting to leave without saying something else. Gosh, when did he turn into skinny Steve?

“Bucky,” he manages to state, as she stares at him for a moment.

“Excuse me?”

“Bucky is what all my friends call me,” James states shyly as she looks at him with surprise before nodding, understanding what he is trying to say in all so many words.  

“Thank you, Bucky,” she states as James’ heart flutter at his nickname being said in such a way, “Hopefully, I’ll see ya soon.”

She grabs the bag and begins to walk in. It’s in the flick of her wrist and between saying I hope so too that Bucky notices – a black bruise underneath her cardigan. However, he stays silent and waves goodbye as she goes inside once more, but on the way back to his own crummy apartment, it doesn’t leave James’ head the entire way back. He hopes it isn’t what he thinks it is, thinking of his own family’s past and his father.

He hopes that nobody is hurt a pretty a gal like her. 


	3. sneak attacks and dinner.

_“What do you mean that Carter is there?” a voice, mostly likely Queen’s, exclaims through the little comm system step up in the bedroom, as a certain young woman tries to bandage the whelps that were slowly starting to make themselves shown after her night – almost being caught in Stark Industries being a certain Agent, which had lead to her jumping out of a second-story window._

_Oracle had never been as graceful as Queen, and certainly not Noir._

_“She shot in my direction,” the woman explains as she looks at the mirror to check her handy work, “Almost nicked me, plain as day. The woman is as dangerous as eva.”_

_“Ore,” Noir comes in this time around as the young woman puts on her sleeping gown, “Lay low for now. We’ve got some intel here. Do not do anything foolish.”_

_“Pot calling the kettle black,” she frowns before sitting down on her small desk. Gadgets and other mechanics laid about it. Queen laughs in the background, as Noir grumbles something in her native tongue._

_“Find something else to do for now,” Noir orders, but Oracle takes it to heart, “Maybe go out for once.”_

_Oracle keeps frowning and shuts communication off on her side, feeling both disappointed in herself and annoyed with the rest of the world as she calls it a night._

* * *

“Are ya sure that was them?” a certain detective can’t help but ask as he runs to where Peggy is standing straight with her gun at hand. Peggy takes a calming breath before walking forward to where she is sure the Black Widow have moved on from.

“I am completely sure, James,” she answers back before looking around to see what else she can find, before letting out with an annoyed sigh, “ _But, it isn’t the same person.”_

James cocks an eyebrow over this, unsure of how Peggy knew this and what this all meant in the long run.

* * *

It’s a week since the last time he has seen her, between trying to catch up with the case that Peggy had handed him – the notes and everything to look over– and just catching up with the rest of the Howling Commandos and Steve that were in town before they headed to D.C, Bucky Barnes was a busy man. However, that quickly changed when he and Pegs caught their first sight of the Black Widow in the farther side of Manhattan lurking around the budding Stark Industries.

Peggy had almost nicked them with her gun and that would have been the end of it, but the Black Widow –thought a bit sloppier than he would have thought from his sight of vision on the roof– has managed to dodge the bullet and run into the darker part of New York.

Peggy’s declaration had caught him off-guard, but without proper clearance from Stark himself, they couldn’t go deeper into the building. They were just waiting for him to come back from his impromptu getaway in Europe, the man always seemed to be caught up with something.

For now, they were just sitting ducks, but Peggy always found something to do – James wasn’t exactly on the same boat.

It wasn’t that he was lazy or anything if you asked Captain Fury he would have to admit James Barnes was one of the hardest working men on the force. However, war had thought Bucky to take life one step at a time, while the rest of his friends ran and ran to take down the next “great evil” of the world, James woke up and smelled the coffee - spent time with his sisters and mother while making sure to great everyone in his neighborhood and precinct he watched over.   

Life was something that he realized shouldn’t be taken for granted, and while he wasn’t exactly where he thought he was, it was still a pretty good life for him.

He could only smile, as he watched people go by from his seat outside of one of his favorite delis. The information about the Black Widow and all their heists laid out in front of him, though he was sure by now that they had to be a woman. As blurry as the pictures were, he knew the female body well enough?

The problem arose with Peggy’s statement from their first surveillance: it isn’t the same person.

Did that mean that the Black Widow was a cover for something bigger? It was something that he was going to have to think about even more, especially with mobs getting more of a foothold in the city and even parts of HYDRA were still lurking about, if he wanted to think about it that sinisterly.

“Detective Barnes,” a voice drags him out of his thoughts as he turns to look up, “How are you this fine afternoon?”

Blue eyes turn to meet a familiar setting as she gives him a welcoming smile. James can’t help but think that she has just gotten out of the clinic since she was still weaning white mary-janes and her hair was pinned in a style to be kept behind those caps they always wore, but besides that, it was a skirt and cardigan ensemble.

“Perfectly well,” Bucky explains as he gathers his papers only for her to give him a curious look, “Just managing some finer work details. Did ya just get out of work?”

“Yes,” she nods, as he gets up and pulls out the other chair for her. She looks at him with a curious look in her eyes, as he gives her an awkward but hopeful smile. James hadn’t done something like this in a good while and he could feel the rustiness seep into his mannerisms, but luckily for him, she ends up taking the seat and ordering a sweet lemonade.

“Tryin to catch a villain, Detective?” she teases with a smile before taking a sip of her drink, as blue eyes watch her.

“Something like that,” Bucky huffs out, almost not noticing that she keeps looking at the file that he was putting away before turning back to look at him, but James was sure –after going through so much– that it was just morbid curiosity on her part – civilians always tended to do that.

“So what have ya been up to?”

Bucky isn’t sure who asks it first, but they both end up laughing as she moves forward with telling him about her friends who are in California enjoying the first vacation that they had had in a long time. Bucky ends up telling her about his sisters and mother, a little bit about Steve planning on proposing but that’s it; as much as he wants to get to know he still feels that there is a barrier that she isn’t willing to let go of and Bucky is nothing but a gentleman. But, somehow they manage to make it work as they end up talking baseball, how he is trying to relearn piano, and how she is trying to pick up on some mechanics here and there.

“Well, if you ever need any help,” Bucky can’t help but out. It isn’t meant to be mean or anything, just as a carefully laugh and while he is actually quite interested in why a gal like her needs to learn it, the look on her face –bitter and sad– tells him not to touch the subject any further for now.

They end up having an early dinner and before Bucky knows it, it is time to go back to the station but not before asking if he can walk her home once more – it was something that he was getting used to. She smiles and nods, and while it’s a quick and quieter walk than the last two Bucky enjoys it either way. And once more, they are standing in front of the steps of her red-brick apartment.

There are so many things that he wants to say and ask about the type of life she might have behind closed doors, but it’s not proper to ask with how little he still knows about her. Instead, he decides to be discrete and vague about the thing that was worrying him since the last time he had seen her.

“Take care of yourself,” Bucky almost sounds like he’s pleading with her, as she looks at him with wide eyes. He motions to her arm, skin hidden underneath her cardigan that she always seems to wear despite the weather as he gives her a serious look.

“I’ll try to watch where I’m going, Bucky,” she gives him one last smile before heading inside and while James knows he should be going, he ends up standing there a little while longer.

On his way back to the station, Bucky can’t help but wonder if this is what Steve meant when he was trying to explain –back during the war and in the trenches– that he was falling for Peg.


	4. brave new world.

“What do you think she is doing right now?” Queen can’t help but ask with a soft smile, as she watches Noir put on her dark stockings at the end of the bed. Her red hair it pinned up in a stylish door and the dress hugs her every curve – things that Queen is already very familiar with.

Noir tried her hardest not to laugh, “Hopefully, not twiddling with her machines.”

“She sure does love them,” Queen remarks as Noir gets up and puts on her heels. She gives herself one last look over in the large vanity mirror close to the window — Los Angeles burning brightly below them.

“You can’t blame,” Noir adds with a depressing familiarity, “It’s all she has.”

Queen frowns, but before she can say anything she moves and gives Queen a quick peck on the cheek before leaving for the party that Stark had planned for the night – however, the damage has done as Queen has to remind herself that Noir and Oracle weren’t exactly like her.

* * *

Between helping Peggy get some more information from Stark, his own unbearable phantom pain, and meeting with his ma (she was trying to set him up with someone again), James doesn’t have time to see the nurse that has caught his eye. Sometimes, he passes her red-brick apartment building but doesn’t have the courage to seek her out. Other times, he thinks about stopping where she works and visit, maybe ask her out for lunch but he doesn’t particularly feel the best when he is in a hospital nowadays.

He isn’t feeling the best right at the moment when the pain between his shoulder and the metal arm that Stark had given him hurts like hell. The phantom pain and sometimes the connectivity leaves him in pain for days to the point that he only runs on a few to no hours of sleep to stop himself from screaming in the middle of the night and walking up the rest of the people on the floor of his apartment.

He’s boarding a very little sleep when he sees her walking down the other side of the street – light colored dress and a coat. James wants to say so many things, but instead, he stops and groans in pain and annoyance over his shoulder and it might not be exactly what he wants, but it is enough to grab her attention as he feels a hand on his back and blue eyes glance up to meet her concern face.

“Are you all right, James?” she can’t help but asks, as he groans out in annoyance and that is enough of an answer for her to try to help his right shoulder over hers as she tries to move him from the middle of the street.

Her sudden strength reminds him of Peg and how she and the rest of the Howling Commandos found him after the train, but he pushes that away for a much easier question.

“How can ya–”

 **“The war,** ” she answers without missing a beat and in a tone that Bucky notes  _(It’s always the war,_ he can’t help but note) doesn’t leave any more room for questioning, as she looks both ways and crosses the street. A few blocks down and some strange looks later he is in front of a familiar building, but before anything else can happen – he is already passing out on the door of her apartment.

“How am I gonna to do this?”

That’s the last thing he hears and he can’t help but smile just a little at her stubborn annoyance.

* * *

It’s a few hours later when Bucky finally wakes up in a startle and a jump as he looks around, trying piece together where he was and what had happened. He sees his blue suit jacket placed in the corner and slowly comes to the realization that his white shirt is unbuttoned with some warm bandages and cream placed in the junction of his shoulder and the metal arm.

_Shit, she had seen it._

Blue eyes scan the room and that when he sees her, nestled into a rocking chair with a blanket draped over her laps. Her dress had been changed for a men’s button up rolled up to her sleeves and her hair was loose around her face. She looked like a dream, but the fear and repugnance that Bucky felt over what she might have seen drove Bucky to try to get up.

“Hmmm,” she hums lightly at the sudden noise, as her eyes open, “Oh, you’re awake. Are you feeling better?”

“Yeah,” he breathes out, “A little.”

She nods before getting up. Bucky notices what looks like a little radio or transmitter in her hands that she places down gently on the table next to him, that’s when he notices to smaller pictures on the tabletop in the incredible barren room. One has three young women in the same uniform in front of a large metal gate opening. They all have a serious look on their faces, but Bucky can tell that they are all hiding something with that glimmer in their eyes – like Becca and Liz when they were trying to hide something from him.

The second picture is older and more ripped near the edges and it takes a good second for Bucky to pick up that’s it’s a little girl with what looks to be her parents in one of the familiar rides near Coney Island. Blue eyes turn up to look at her as she gives him a weary smile, but she doesn’t stop him from asking as James tries to find something else to talk about besides his own broken parts.

“Are ya from around here?”

“Sort of,” she remarks with a bit of a fidget, “My parents met in Queens and had me before moving around… they were always moving.”

“Do ya still talk to them?” Bucky can’t help but ask softly, as she simply shakes her head.

“You’re lucky to still have ya ma,” she answers back and that’s all the explanation that James need to realize that she was in some ways like Stevie – needed to grow up and be tougher than usual if she wanted to, but while Steve had his strong sense of justice, Bucky couldn’t help but wonder what she had when it came to it all.

**Bucky wanted to know everything he could about her.**

“Are you hungry?” James doesn’t hesitate this time around, “Do ya wanna get something to eat? I know–”

He can’t stop himself from rushing forward for just a moment and his thankful that Steve isn’t here to see him like this – tongue-tied and nervous over a gal, over being rejected. His mind keeps going a hundred miles a minute, but everything stops when she grabs his left hand and looks at him with a slight smile on her painted lips.

“Detective Barnes,” she teases him just a bit, “Are you asking me out on a date?”

“If you’re willing,” he states  _the even after everything you have seen_  is left unsaid as a shy smile blooms onto her face.

“I would love to,” she answers back before laughing though Bucky is a little confused until she states: “Wait until my friends hear about this. They’ve been hounding me to go on a date for months.”

“Guess I’m just lucky,” Bucky states with a laugh of his own, as he rubs her knuckles with his hand.

She smiles and nods: **“We both are.** ”

The meaning behind all that left unsaid for another time.


	5. love in the air.

_ There is a wild laugh -- hysterical, free laughter followed by quick kisses on the places where her dress ends and her skin begins.  _

_ But, Queen is a professional and knows what she has to do to get what she needs, what she wants out of laugh even though she might hate it. It has been drilled into her through beatings, threats, and general fear as a child, but this isn’t about where she had been once. _

_ It is about what she needs in the long, but sometimes it’s too much even for her as she draws a deep breath in and thinks of blond hair with a crafty smile.  _

_ Pop! Pop!  _

_ The man drops as green eyes turn to meet furious brown ones.  _

_ Queen isn’t sure if she should be angry or grateful at the sight of Peggy Carter in front of her. _

* * *

 

It’s strange, this whole about going out on a date. It wasn’t that you had never been on one before, but it certainly has been a long time and after getting ditched or simple becoming the fourth wheel due to your friends getting most of the attention. 

Detective Barnes had been a rare sort of person that grabbed your attention and it was a mutual thing because he had been coming back for some time now -- and that was the scary thing about the whole thing. 

“What would Natasha say?” you mutter to yourself as you look at yourself and the dress and sweater combo that you had picked for yourself since you were simply going out for dinner, but Natasha has always been the more extravagant one of the three you.\

_ The color looks fine, but maybe…. _

You frown at the thought of what Natasha would say before going back and rethinking the whole thing.

Sharon. You should think like Sharon about this whole thing. 

If you thought about this anymore, you were going to realize that you were bad at this sort of thing.

* * *

 

Bucky Barnes used to be good at this sort of thing, but time and circumstance had rusted his dating skills. It wasn’t like he didn’t get any offers, but everyone had heard of his legendary fall in the train during the last battle against HYDRA. Any normal human being would have died, but James had stopped being that after he had been captured by Zola, though he didn’t like thinking about that aspect of things. 

He wasn’t the same person that had left for the war all those years ago, but the stories exacerbated him where he was nothing but a wise-crackin’ dancing charmer that could have whole group of girls on their knees. He could barely stand being a large group of people before everything started to suffocate him, but it was even harder to pretend that he was the same before from almost a decade ago. 

Bucky really hoped that--

“Detective Barnes, you’re here early,” blue eyes look up to see that she is already standing there with a lovely dress and her hair pinned slightly back. He had seen her in a dress before and even her nurse outfit, but this was completely different -- this was for him and him alone. 

“Yeah,” he admits shyly before handing her the small bouquet in his hands, “So, are you.” 

She pouts just a little at tease since she had been waiting longer than she would admit to see him at the doorsteps of her apartment. She lets it slide instead as she takes two steps down to meet him: “So, where are you talking me tonight, Decte--?”

“Bucky,” he stops her as she looks at him in confusion for a second, “Bucky is just fine for tonight.”

She pauses for a moment before smiling, “All right, Bucky.” 

He won’t say how his heart skips a beat at the sound of his nickname at the tip of her tongue.

* * *

 

War isn’t the greatest thing to talk about, but at this point as a shared life experience for nearly everyone he knew -- it was the easiest thing to bring. So, he asked you what you did when you were nursing back in France and then London, all the carnage wasn’t easy to forget but everyone grew from it in some way. In others, it made for some really good stories to look back on.

“--So the soldier comes out screaming and butt naked as who I think is his commanding officer bellows his name,” you laugh, reminiscing as to how people could find love even with the world going to hell in a hand basket, “Poor gal got sent to another hospital, but somehow they made it work. I ‘eard they got married last summer.”

Bucky takes a bite out of his meal with a laugh, “That sure is something.”   


“And what about you?” she can’t help but ask with a curious stare, as Bucky pauses, “Any wartime love story?” 

No, Steve and Pegs had a great love story --something that the movies and books would write about for decades to come-- Bucky frowns at the thought and she might have caught it since the smile seemed to vanish from her face at the same time as well.

Bucky Barnes didn’t have a great story, in any sort of way. He was sure of it. 

“Not really,” he shrugs as he feels a hand over his left which causes him to freeze for just a second. Blue eyes look from his food to meet her glimmering one, a soft smile on her face like she might understand where he is coming from. 

War and life in general leaves a lot of unfinished stories. 

“--But, I’m working on it,” Bucky lets out an embarrassed laugh as she nods at his answer.

* * *

 

There is no dancing tonight since Bucky has to get up early the next morning --he’s waiting for Peggy to come back from Los Angeles-- and you don’t have the best set of dancing feet. So the night comes to a softer end than any other date that James Buchanan Barnes had in his youth and he is all right with that, as he smiles with you holding onto his right elbow, while asking whatever question came to mind as you got to know each other better. 

“So, what's the one thing you haven’t done in New York yet?” Bucky asks, already forming a plan in his head, as he watches you tilt your head for a moment to think.

“I haven’t gone to some museums,” you admit, it almost reminds him of a younger Steve, before you add on, “But I would really like to see a talkie in Midtown.” 

“Then, how about this Saturday?” Bucky asks with a grin as you stare at him with wide eyes before smiles.

“Are you asking me on ‘nother date, Detective?” you gasp out in teasing shock, as you leaning a bit closer into him and give him that smile that riles something that he hasn’t felt in years, “So soon?” 

“Maybe I just like seein’ ya,” Bucky grins as the two of you stop in front of your apartment building. 

“I’ll have to check my schedule,” you state as Bucky nods, understanding how hard it could get a day off with your type of work. He nods, as you let go of his elbow, “But I had a good time.” 

Blue eyes sparkle at your admission, as you take a step but not before you kiss him softly on the cheek. There’s a dumbstruck look on his face as you pull away.

“Goodnight, Bucky.” 

“Goodnight, doll.” 

One last glance and he’s walking down the street and back to his own apartment as you head up the stairs, though while he’s going over the events of the night...you’re panicking over the injurued body in your room. 


End file.
